Starlight Bath
by Higuchimon
Summary: The Kaiser takes a little walk for some air and runs into his worthy adversary on a midnight swim.


_**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the canon characters who appear in this fanfic and am not writing this for any form of profit.  
**Title:** Starlight Bath  
**Timeline:** Digimon Adventure 02, during the Digimon Kaiser arc.  
**Romance:** Digimon Kaiser Ken x Daisuke  
**Notes:** This was written for Ria, for winning the Kensuke Mailing List Challenge.  
**Summary:** The Kaiser takes a little walk for some air and runs into his worthy adversary on a midnight swim._

Everything was quiet and still in the deepest part of the night. Most of the Digimon who served the Digimon Kaiser were asleep, even his own partner Wormmon. Ichijouji Ken refused to think of that ignorant little pest as his partner in any way. It was just a little _bug_, not even worth of evolving. It wasn't as if the creature could become something useful anyway. All Wormmon was good for was household help. He had something much more interesting in mind for a partner...his Kimeramon.

The problem was, however, that he was completely and utterly bored with working on it. He'd gotten almost everything he wanted done for it tonight, but he wasn't really all that tired. For one of the few times in his life, he had nothing to do. _That's one of the drawbacks to having moved here,_ he thought a trifle listlessly. _At least on Earth I always had something to occupy me. Nothing I wanted to do for myself, though. Always things for **them**._

He neatly turned his thoughts away from his parents. He hadn't left them behind just to keep thinking about them during a momentary lapse in activity. He'd kept himself so busy during the last few weeks he hadn't even bothered to sleep until he literally passed out from exhaustion. He wasn't at that point yet, however. Not this time.

Amazingly, he actually felt quite alert, despite how hard he'd been working, and his irregular sleep habits. He just had nothing to do. _I almost wish those Chosen Children would show up so I'd have something to do._ He'd given thought every now and then to trying to capture one of them, so in those rare moments, like this, when he was bored, he would have someone to toy with. He already knew which one he would pick. Some were more easily malleable than others, but he wanted someone who would be a challenge. Someone who he couldn't _break_, but who he could manipulate and twist until they were just what he wanted.

Then he realized he had more important things to do right now, and he could do _that_ once he'd defeated the Chosen and had the one he wanted safely tucked away into his dungeon. There was no need to rush on it. It would happen soon enough. Like the rising and the setting of the sun, it was inevitable.

He stared at his monitors for several minutes. Everything was quiet, almost to the point where he was worried. _No, those kids never come here at night, and no one in the Digital World would dare to attack **me**._ That was ludicrous.

Ken stood up suddenly, feeling a bit hemmed in by the walls around him. _I think I'm going to go on a survey of the local territory._ He tapped a few commands into his keyboard, and the fortress came to a stop hovering just outside of a thick forest. _There should be several Digimon worthy of being enslaved by me there._ It didn't matter how long he took in the search; these commands would keep the fortress from moving until he returned.

He didn't even bother to tell Wormmon he was going anywhere. He didn't care to be mothered by a worm, and the very _last_ thing he wanted or needed was to have that pest around watching him while he hunted for more slaves. How could he relax while being watched?

In seconds he was down just outside the woods. He paused there for a moment, watching the wind dance through the trees, letting moonlight dapple the ground in silver fantasies. _Oh, that's just disgusting. That's the last time I read fantasy novels before bed. I should never have let Wormmon choose my nightly reading material._ He had to admit, however, _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_ **_was_** very good reading. For children. He wasn't enjoying it at all. Not in the slightest. _I'll have to remember to get the next one in the series when it's published._ He made a mental note. No, he was not enjoying it at all.

The Kaiser slipped into the woods quickly, wrapping his cloak about himself so he could move easier through things and not be trapped in them. The material of his garments seldom was able to be torn or ripped, but it could be snagged, and that would not do at all for his image. Only the smallest part of his mind was concerned with looking for Digimon right now, and he didn't even bother to pull out a ring when he saw a Tapirmon going by. _It's useless. What good could something as stupid as **Waking Dream** be?_ He swept along, breathing in the soft night air quietly, letting the sounds of the night enfold him. It felt so restful, so relaxing...just what he needed.

He walked along in utter silence, taking pride in the fact he moved with no more sound than the wind. Perhaps even less. Not that he _expected_ anything less from himself. He _was_ perfect after all.

Ken had very little appreciation for the beauty of nature, but even he recognized artwork when he saw it, in the form of a perfectly circular clearing, with a full moon pouring down in a river of molten light, bright enough to read by if he were so inclined. The Kaiser simply stared at it, open-mouthed. For once, he'd run into something pure and beautiful that simply _was_ beautiful. It asked for nothing and gave nothing but beauty, and was transient, would vanish in only a few hours, perhaps to never be seen again. But in the short time it was there, it was the incarnation of all that was pure and beautiful.

_That's..._ Words failed the genius as he stared at the clearing. His mind was completely overwhelmed, and it was only with effort he kept from weeping at the pure beauty of it. _I'm the **Digimon Kaiser**, I don't blubber like a baby over some pretty scenery!_

His contemplation of the beauty before him was interrupted by a happy peal of laughter and the splashing of water. _What in the world could that be? Some Digimon hot spring?_ Pulled by some force he couldn't identify, he headed over towards where the sound came from, moving quietly and carefully.

He could see the moonlight flashing off the water ahead, and the splashes and laughter were louder. He carefully moved a branch out of his way, and as his eyes took in what was on the other side, he felt himself go first quite pale, then quite red.

Naked in the paleness, slender and gleaming with crystalline light, water droplets dripping off him, was Motomiya Daisuke. His red hair was plastered to his skull, and he looked so much more completely _happy_ than Ken could ever remember seeing him before.

_Naked...he's naked..._ Ken's mind focused on that right away, and he immediately took the chance to gaze hungrily. He had never seen another human being, much less another human male, like this before, and he was going to enjoy the view while it was there. He didn't move an inch; he was enjoying this, and if Motomiya knew that someone was watching him, he'd hide all that delicious flesh, and Ken did _not_ want that in the slightest.

He kept himself quite still, watching as the other swam and bathed in the crystal clear water. _I wonder what Motomiya's doing here. I know he's got bathing facilities at home._ Then again, he wasn't really going to _protest_, how many people got to see something this completely and utterly delicious? He was fairly sure not many had. Or if they had, they hadn't appreciated what they saw.

It was Daisuke he had always thought of taming and training to his hand. He had the idea that the redheaded hothead kept the soul of a submissive buried within him, and Ken knew he was the one to bring that out in him, to make of him the perfect partner and slave. But now as he gazed at this sparkling, shimmering, shining image, he knew he could never extinguish that fire. It would be a crime even for him to do something like that.

Never before had Ichijouji Ken felt something when he looked at someone else, except for withering contempt, or wondering how best he could use them. The last time he'd been this close to Motomiya, he'd wound up wanting revenge on him for being humiliated. He hadn't bothered taking a good look at the body, all he'd wanted was that boy humbled. Which had been good fun in and of itself, but now he cursed himself for wasting time when he could've been amusing himself in far, far different ways with this one.

He moved forward, wanting a better look, when a treacherous branch cracked under his feet, and Motomiya's head snapped up towards him at once, beautiful eyes widening when he saw his mortal enemy staring at his naked and wet flesh.

"Holy crap!!" The Child of Courage and Friendship took one startled look, then dived underwater, his head surfacing to send an annoyed glare over to the Kaiser. "Geez, can't a guy have a little bit of privacy??"

Ken had never been taken so off guard in his life. He had always been on top of every situation, had always known _just_ what to do and say no matter what. This time, however, he simply stammered. "I...I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you better be." Daisuke didn't move an inch, just kept glaring at him with those star-touched eyes. "I thought you didn't come out at night anyway. What are you doing here spying on me?" His eyes almost seemed to gleam suddenly. "I know I'm good-looking, but I'm sure you could've just kept on watching from that base of yours, wherever it is."

The Kaiser only stared, his eyes almost trying to jump out of his head and dive underwater to check out more of what he hadn't seen the first time around. "I was just out for a walk." He tried to sound nonchalant, but since he was practically gaping at the water-covered figure of his archenemy, he was fairly certain he wasn't succeeding.

Daisuke gave him a penetrating look. "Sure you are. That's why you're staring at me like I'm the blue plate special and you haven't eaten in a month. Maybe you can fool yourself, Ichijouji, but you can't fool me." Something flashed in those eyes, something Ken thought was possibly mischief, he'd seen that look before on Daisuke, though never directed towards him. Just as he was about to remember where he'd seen it and what Daisuke had done next...

_Hormone rush!!_ Ken's mind blanked out as Daisuke casually leaned back and began to lazily do the backstroke, the moonlight framing him exquisitely. The back of Ken's mind was well aware of just how stupid he looked to be standing there in his imperial garb, with his mouth open and his tongue starting to hang out as his eyes followed the shimmering form of his water-caressed foe.

The front of Ken's mind didn't give a flying leap and only wanted to keep watching that beautiful sight until the end of time. With possible interludes for breathing, though that was entirely optional and could be done without if really necessary.

To give him due credit, the Kaiser _tried_ to remember that the delicious form in front of him was his enemy. He wasn't supposed to find it irresistible. It was a _male_, he wasn't supposed to be attracted to it. But he didn't care right now. All he wanted was to keep looking, perhaps to reach out and touch, to see if that skin was as soft as it looked to be...

There was a flash of pain across the back of his neck, distracting him for a moment. _I'm the Kaiser, I shouldn't be admiring his body, I should be enslaving it!_ For a moment his hand almost twitched, almost summoned a dark spiral.

His hand stopped where it was, however, when Daisuke turned sideways, and the shimmering moon flashed perfectly off slim limbs and tanned skin. Ken forced his mind past the pain that tried to split his mind apart, and looked only at the delicious figure before him. "What are you doing here all by yourself?" He couldn't quite seem to pull his usual coldness around himself for some reason, the invisible cloak of imperial authority, but he didn't really care right now. Perhaps he could lay it aside for one night. He knew Motomiya would never mention this to anyone, after all.

"Swimming, what does it look like?" The other boy drawled as he moved easily and lazily through the water. "You're supposed to be some kind of a genius and you can't figure that out?" There was teasing contempt in the voice, and a part of Ken told him that Motomiya didn't mean it, that he was just joking. His lips contorted into a new configuration.

"Swimming? It looks more like you're trying to pose for the latest issue of some hentai yaoi manga." Ken felt a nice warmth in the middle of his stomach as Daisuke stopped being so graceful and spluttered incoherently at him. Only one sentence made sense.

"_How did you know I draw those??_"

Ken's lips twisted even more. A part of him said this new facial expression was called a 'hentai-ish grin', something he'd never done before. It felt rather nice, though. He thought he could get used to having this. It certainly seemed to be having the most unusual effect on this annoying little fly here. "I didn't...but I do now."

Ohh, this was a new development. Motomiya was actually _blushing_. The Kaiser had never had any idea that the irrepressible boy could do such a thing, and he liked how it made him look. Of course, he was already gorgeous to begin with...perhaps not _everyone's_ ideal of beauty, but Ichijouji Ken wasn't everyone, and he wanted rarity and uniqueness with a passion that was almost holy. Or unholy, depending on how one chose to look at it. Not everyone would think that the Child of Friendship and Courage was beautiful: but now he could think of no other word to describe him.

Well, there was annoying, irritating, stubborn, delectable, and naked, but it was the principle of the thing.

He returned his attention to Motomiya, who was looking quite annoyed at him. That didn't matter, though, he'd pierced that attitude, and he liked that. "So where's your little blue thing? T-mon or whatever it is."

"You know exactly who he is." Motomiya's eyes flashed at him, and Ken felt a little more smug, knowing that he'd yet again gotten under this boy's skin. Other meanings to that offered themselves, but he kept them under control for the moment. Maybe he'd deal with them later, but for now, he had something else on his mind: needling this one some more. "So don't play games, Ichijouji!"

Ken's mind raced for a moment, trying to figure out just what would annoy this one the most easily. Then he found it. "I wasn't playing games, but if you're in the mood for some strip poker..." He paused deliberately. "However, since you're already naked, can we take it as a given that I won?" He was rewarded by the satisfying sound of the other spluttering in outrage.

For a few moments the two of them stared at each other silently, then finally Motomiya broke it. "So are you just going to sit there all night, or are you coming in?"

Ken had never really felt flustered before, so he knew that he couldn't be now. Kaisers were _never_ flustered, and he was the Digimon Kaiser, ergo, he was not flustered. It was simple mathematics. He had simply not been expecting the offer. After all, Chosen Children of Friendship and Courage didn't offer it to their enemies all the time, no matter how bright the moonlight or how delicious the fragrances in the air. Oh, yes, that had to be it. There was something in the air. Probably some digital flower or something that had bloomed and was making them both act unnaturally. That was the intelligent and only logical answer.

Motomiya glared at him when he didn't move right away. "What, you think I'm staying in here for my health? Get naked and get in here, Ichijouji, I'm not going to sit here all night and talk to you while you're there and I'm here! You need to relax, and this is the best place for it! Now _move_!"

Ken had never taken orders while in the Digital World. _He_ was the one who gave the commands. This time, however, he was half out of his clothes before he even gave a thought to it. When it sank in what he was doing, he was quick to explain it to himself. _It's just whatever pollen is in the air. In the morning we'll wake up and be enemies again._ His mind, or perhaps it was his hormones, presented him with the notion that waking up _with_ Motomiya wouldn't be all that bad of a deal, all things considered. He promptly ignored whatever it was and slid into the water, his imperial uniform all neatly folded out of the way of splashes.

"All right, Motomiya, I'm in here now." He folded his arms and tried to give a stern look to the other. "What do you want?"

"To _swim_, idiot." Motomiya rolled his eyes. "Come on, have some fun! If that rod up your butt gets any stiffer, you're not going to be able to sit down!"

Oh, the fun Ken's already wayward hormones had with _that_ little statement. Ken himself affected not to have heard. "I was already having fun out there."

"Yeah, but not fun like _this_." Ken could react at a moment's notice, but something held him back this time as Daisuke zipped over to him and dunked him under the water. He spluttered and spit and swore as he resurfaced, and looked around for the annoying one. For a moment he was all alone in the lake...

Then Daisuke surfaced behind him, grabbed him by the waist, and tipped him headfirst into the water.

Ken recovered quickly and resurfaced, once again looking around for his watery companion. It took him a moment to spy the ripple of water shooting towards him, and he decided this time Daisuke would know why he was called the Rocket. He stepped quickly to one side, then slid under the water himself, diving deeper to see just how far he could go.

He could see the other moving around above, obviously wondering where he was at, and grinned wickedly to himself. _This'll teach him._ Moving as smoothly as a dolphin, but with the grin of a shark, he zipped up behind Motomiya and dunked _him_ into the water head first.

"And that's why I'm the best, and you're not." The genius sneered with a grin. Motomiya squirmed away from him and looked back, his hair dripping into his eyes.

"Bet you can't do that again."

Ken almost felt like tearing the arrogant young boy's head off, then he conquered the feeling, and leaped forward, ready to pull him down again. This time, however, Motomiya was ready for him, and he slid away like a greased snake. The Kaiser growled faintly, but the redhead only grinned. "It's not _that_ easy to catch me, you know!"

"I had you the second time you were here, remember?" Ken retorted. Daisuke only grinned mockingly.

"And you didn't keep me either." He purred with pure mischief. "You can't catch me, you can't keep me." Motomiya paused for a moment, and both of them felt as if something was about to happen. The next words fell between them like light on water. "But you want me."

As the sound echoed for a moment around the clearing, each stared at the other in shock. They had ended up only a few inches from each other, within easy reach if they wanted to. Neither moved for a moment, and when they did, it was at the same time, and in the same direction: forward.

It only took a couple of steps, but then they were able to touch...able to feel...

Ken's hand brushed Daisuke's for a moment, and then their fingers intertwined. Their eyes met, violet and brown, and their hearts raced to the same rhythm.

Then, gently and tenderly, not even sure why, just knowing that in this time and in this place, in this one instance, this was everything that they wanted or needed or could possibly ask for...

They kissed.

It was the most perfect and completely flawless moment that either of them had ever experienced. Neither of them wanted it to end, not even for something as mundane and necessary as breathing. But when they finally _did_ break apart, it was only to the length of their still entwined hands.

Neither could find anything to say. All of Daisuke's glibness seemed to have vanished into thin air. Ken was rendered beyond speechless. Neither could take their eyes off the other.

"W...I'd like to say wow but that would be about the most cliche thing I could think of." Ken finally found his voice. Motomiya...no, _Daisuke_, he could never think of someone who was _that_ good of a kisser by their family name again. A faint ache of pain pulsed in the back of his neck, and he shoved it away. He didn't want to hurt now. He just wanted to feel this good forever.

Daisuke managed to work past the bliss of the kiss. "I know...who would've thought _you_ could kiss like that?"

"I was just thinking the same thing."

Neither was very inclined to say anything else. Words were beyond superfluous. All that mattered were the hands that were wrapped around each other, and the lips that moved slowly towards one another for a second, deeper, richer kiss. This one lasted much longer than the first one, and somehow seemed to have more meaning.

Daisuke stared at him, not quite shyly, but not quite boldly either. "That...was a heck of a first kiss."

_Yours too?_ Ken wanted to ask, but the words never made it to his lips. Other ones did. "So what happens now? I'm not changing what I am for you."

"And I'm not changing what _I_ am for you." Daisuke stared him right in the eye, and Ken realized all the more fully that what had always drawn him to this redheaded terror was the strength that never backed down or bent or broke. To change that would be to change him from what made him _Daisuke_, and as amusing as it would be to have a warm and cuddly toy around the fortress, it would be even _more_ amusing to have someone with whom he could have a conversation with.

In a moment of extraordinary insight, beyond the norm even for him, Ken knew that this was the beginning of something. Daisuke might not be as smart as he was, in the sense of books and information, but the redhead could see into a heart as easily as a bird flew. Each balanced the other. He was fairly sure each _needed_ the other. He knew that his life in the fortress would never quite be the same, as long as he had this memory glowing in his mind.

"I know." Ken nodded quietly, not removing his eyes for a moment from Daisuke's. This was sudden, he knew, but he didn't care. This was what he wanted. "So...will I see you again after this?" He didn't have to clarify what he meant. Daisuke's thoughts ran in tandem with his, for this moment in time.

The redhead nodded slowly, as overwhelmed as the Kaiser was, if not more so. "Maybe we can meet here? In the Digital World...at night? When no one's looking?"

"I'd love that." Ken pulled him closer, enveloping the other in his arms, feeling Daisuke's arms going around him. Never had he felt this safe, this warm, or this loved. From enemies to lovers, in the space of moments...a task many might say was impossible. But impossible and possible are completely in the minds of the beholder, and neither of them cared what should and shouldn't be at that moment. All they wanted, all they needed, was each other. If Ken could've traded all his empire for this one moment, he knew he would have.

Side by side they swam and talked and played, until the night was over, and the thin red streaks of dawn began to stain the eastern sky. Each knew this could not last. They both had lives to get back to, of school and of conquest. They would meet again, in battle and in love. It was the way of things.

"We can't tell anyone about this." Daisuke spoke quietly, kicking his feet in the pool lightly, watching as the ripples went this way and that. "They'd never believe it."

Ken nodded in agreement. "But this is just for us. We don't need anyone else with us, not right now."

They both looked at their entwined fingers, and both smiled. This was what each had sought and never realized until this moment. This was what they had been born for. Hearts in unison. Eyes that filled with love and light at each meeting. They had never felt this linked before. In perfect synchronization. In perfect love.

And all because of a starlight bath.

**The End**


End file.
